Outline

Objective

To study the prevalence of exfoliation syndrome in patients hospitalized in Eye Department of University Hospital “St. Anna” and Medical Center for Sight “Pashev” in Sofia, Bulgaria for the period of 1st January 2004 – 31st December 2005.

Methods

A retrospective review of clinical documentations of 5228 hospitalized patients was performed. Demographic data (gender, age, place of residence) were collected. Statistical evaluation of data was performed with the help of computer program StatSoft version 4_5. Exfoliation syndrome was diagnosed on the basis of detailed eye exam of every hospitalized patient during study period.

Results

5228 patients with mean age of 61.6 years were hospitalized. 608 patients had ExS – 11.63%. 355 (58.4%) of the patients were women and 253 (41.6%) were men. The average age of patients with ExS was 74 years (42-98). In most of patients with ExS both eyes were affected. The youngest patient had unilateral exfoliation syndrome after corneal transplantation 22 years ago. Most patients were admitted for surgical treatment of cataract and glaucoma.

Conclusions

Exfoliation syndrome (ExS) is frequent age related condition characterized with production and deposition of abnormal extracellular material in various ocular structures. According to some studies ExS is diagnosed in more than a half of patients with glaucoma and therefore it is the most frequent cause of secondary glaucoma. Exfoliation syndrome is related also to cataract formation. ExS becomes more frequent with age. The analysis of our data shows that patients with ExS are older as compared to patients with other eye diseases treated during the same period of time. Our study demonstrates no statistically significant difference between men 253 (41.6%) and women 355 (58.4%). Reported data for the frequency of ExS among men and women vary in different studies. Proper diagnosis and consideration of possible surgical complications associated with ExS are of crucial importance in our daily clinical practice.